oh, many people have! we use them all the time, and at our training classes - people also use them. different kinds and brands, just make sure there is a driver for your OS
I see - my major concern was incompatibility of USB to serial adapters (as I have had some customers with medical devices that were picky about which products to use).
If all I have to worry about is a driver for my OS then that answers my question. Thanks for the help guys!